Lock for automobile steering wheels



May 19, 1925.

J. E. ERDEY ET AL LOCK FOR AUTO-MOBILE STEERING WHEELS A Filed Aug. 129,- 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet l 4.5' A 4f EWI qu l I l? f -Y 40 f 47 /I 46M nl f-- 43.936 1 344 kl* 35 q 5 5 7 't .m e #4311 "lllnv'" mm 66;); 39 57 l //////l w i, 1 21 9 g: n OZ f a 54 n1 fd L L3, f 32 3.37 E

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ZZ 30 l 26 I 2.9 25 24 1 l/I Z' IN VENTORS May 19, 1925.

J. E. ERDEY ET AL LOCK FOR AUTOMOBILE STEERING WHEELS Filed Aug. A29, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet, 2

Patented May 19, 1925.

.UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH E. ERDEY AND HARRY n.

SAFELOCK 00. INC., or CLEVELAND, omo, A CORPORATION or DELAWARE. Loox roRAUToMoBILD s'rEERrNG WHEELS. I

application inea August 29, i922. seriai No. 584,936.

To all whom. t mag/concerne.'

Be it known that I, JOSEPH ERDDY, a citizen of the Republic of Hungary, residing at Cleveland, county of Cuyahoga, and

5 State of Ohio, and I, -HARRY E. KERR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, county ofCuyahoga, and'State of Chio,have invented certain new and useful A In'iprovements in -Locks for Automobile l0 Steering lVheels, of which the following is a specification. n

The principal object of this invention is to meclianisn'i for the "steering Wheels of automobiles by means of which the wheel may be either locked to the steering column in an operative position or unlocked therefrom in such a. condition that the turning of the steering wheel will be ineltective tof-operate the steering mechanism' of avehicle.

A further object is to provide la combination `or permutation lock by means of which the loperative condition of the Asteering wheel is controlled, thereby making it impossible vkforthewheel to be locked after it has Lbeen unlocked without knowing the proper combination ,for the lock.'y

Considered in its more specific aspects, an object of this invention is` to improve upon 00 the lstructure disclosed in the patent to oscph Erdey, No. 1,499,356,

For the accomplishment of these and such further objects as will hereinafter beapparent to those skilled in the art to which this appertains, the invention consists in the construction, combination rand arrangement of parts herein specifically described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention, but it is to be understood that changes. vari-ations and modifications may be resorted to which fall within the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

vIn the drawings forming a portion of this specification Fig. 1 is a central sectional view through an automobile steering wheel to which a lock embodying my inventionhas been attached and showing the'wlieel .inv the unlocked position.

Fig. 2-is`a similarviewshowing the parts in the positionin which the wheel is locked to the steering column. l

Fig. 3 isa section along thesame line as provide a new and improved locking issued July 1,v

Shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the sleeves enclosing the locking mechanism being shown in elevation. l

Fig. 1 is a section on thev line H. of

Fig. 2 with the locking bar removed.

.F ig. Sis a perspective of the outer ring of the permutation lock and l Fig. 9 is a perspective of one of the inner rings of the lock.

In the drawings is shown an embodiment of our inventionas applied to a Ford automobile, thel numeral 10 indicating the steering shaft and the numeral 11 the gear case cover common tol this type of' machine. Secured to the shaft 10 is a. bushing 12 having its-central bore reduced and threaded as at 13 to receivevthe reduced threaded end 14 of the shaft, Vthe bushing 12 being provided with va keyivay 15 alined with the cooperating keywayv 16 in the shaft lO and in Lwhich keyways the key 17 is inserted to lock the bushing to the shaft after the bushing has been threaded onto the reduced threaded end 14 of the shaft. circumference of the bushing is provided at its upper extremity with a. reduced threaded end 18 uponwhich is screwed' a lock base 19, the lower portion ofthe bore of whichl is threaded as at 2O to engage the threaded end 18 and the upper end of which projects upwardly beyond the bushing 12 and is provided with a plurality of slots 2Oa preferably four in number which ,are equally ,f spaced about the circumference of the lock base and are adapted to receive a plunger lock 21 to be hereinafter described. After the lock base has been screwed inplace upon the bushing a pair of holes are drilled into the contacting surfaces of the lock base andA bushing to receive the pins 19a'(see Fig. 7) to prevent relative rotation between these members.

` A lock base cap 22 is rotatably mounted on and encases the lower end ol' the bushing 1 2. the upper face of the lock base cap and the lower face of the lock base defining a bali race in which theanti-friction balls 23 are enclosed.v The power portion of the The outer KEER, OF CLEVELND, OHIO, ASSIGNORS TO THE countei'boi'ed as at. Q-l, a

loch base cap is defined between the is reduced to provide a flanged shoulder 2l) as i'aiiist which is seated the wheel hub 30 and the locl; housing 3l. the reduced end ot the lock base cap and the lower inner bore ot the lock housing,` being provided vith the cooperating screw thread-s 32, the upper reduced portion ot the lock base cap 22 being;` screw threaded as at Q2 to engage the cooperating screw threads ot the locl; housing` 3l.

The wheel hub BO .and the lock housing;- 3l are secured together b y means ot' the cooperating screw threads 32 to prevent relative longitudinal movement between .these members, and the wheel hub is eounterboreil at its upper end as at to receive the upper `flanged portion 35 ot the lock housing. After the lock housing is screwed honie into the wheel hub to seat the tlankafed portion 35 into the counter-bore? a small hole is drilled into the parts as indicated at 3h to receive the locking` pi-n 3T and thereby prevent relative rotary movement between the parts.

rlho upper inner bore ot :the lool; housing is provided with a flanged shoulder Elagainst which is seated the projecting; llangie Si) ot the dial base el() which is iotatally mounted within the loch housing and is p. o vided with the upwardly projectinp` reduced threaded end `ill adapted to engage the threaded bore -ll ott the dial l. the dial tti 'being rotatab y seated within -tlie recess ll tor-ined in the upper tace ot the lool; housing. After the dial t3 has been sere ed home suiiciently to just permit the dial lnd dial base to rotate wi h respect to the loch housing' upon the dial base. a ksmell hole is drilled into the dial and dial base as to receive the locking' pin 4G.

Seated within the lower counterbi ed portion oitl the dial base all is a ring tlanfie el? haviinai` an upwardly projectiney hollow boss t8 in which is slidably received a plun- `a'er l) in the torni ot a short solid shaft having` an outwardly projecting shoulder or tlangjie adjacent its upper end 1between which and the hase 5l ot the bore #l2 ot dial il?) is mounted the coiled spring' 52 adapted to normally urge the plunger to its lower position. A locking; pin 5B is tixedly secured to extend diainetrically through the tool being` in-y plunger yoiid the and its ends plunger to engage wi gated slots 54 provided in the the hollow boss 4S ot thereby locking the ring against relative rotary ii The lower end of plunger as at 55 pin 5G,

spaced plunger slots or .recesses 20,

however,

arins .and slots may Secure ing above the plunger lock as fing raf- .ty of upper tace, there l shown iii the drawin stood that any number l)rotatably mounted w are a number of rings, `one fthe outer rinrg` pin 6l, the outer one of a project outwardly bethin the eloii upper tace et the ring lange .tT. flange and plunger ioveinent.

i9 is reduiofl and has secured thereto as by the a plunger lock 2l.

and

that the number or rThe pluri gzer with four equally ti o lly troni shape ot the be 'varied as desired.

d with-in the bore ot the loch ,io-usretaining member 5S spaced concentric plurality ot recesses the lower talee ot the flanged dial base all. rlflie inner end ot pin Gl and a pin GA adapted lar pin Gl (Fi diate ring` (33.

n also secured in the the space between mediate ring` (Si), and

by the pins 5i' grooves 5) in itsl Jeing three of such grooves g', but it will le, undermay be resorted to. ithin the grooves 5f) for each groove, GO havingsecured therein a end ot which extends into 62 'torined in end 3S) ot the outer ring,` 50 the outer to engage the outer end of a sinii- The .pin 6l in ed to engage a pin G5 projecti from the side of the inn diameter ot the 1 such as to provide a neat rot the plunger. rings are prov the slots is adapted to is :secured trom the plunger..

dial slot Fig.. 8) seat and a curved with vthe 63 and 6G when the dial The inner and nner rineY .preferably bei 5) secured in the interina turn is adaptno outwardly er riiifr (Sti the inner inf atini tit over intermediate ided on their uiliper 'tar-es with (36 and GB respectively, in which be engaged the within and projo( and passes ell ot the riirer tlangije face ot the out the li a cut out portion cut out portion formen piu GT which :ts outwardlv across the raier ring' (it) is (see is adapted to l with cani surface-G8 adapted to contact pin GT and raise it oi ttl i clockwise direction.

The ring' retainer 58 has an annular tlanpje .TO extendingdownwardly troni tace which flange is in alignment ng portion lf) ot upwardly entendi s sectional contigubase an-d oLt' siinilar cros it ot the slots s rotated in a its lower with the the lock ration, and is provided with a plurality ot slots or l'GCGSSeS 20 to receive the plunger l depth ot the slots permit the lower tace o't Tl siinilar to the recesses oclr The t sullicient to plunger loci; the loch hase k38 after` which the dial 43 is screwed sufficiently to vlost motion'.'

19 when in its upper position as shown in Fig. 1, and the slots L20 one half the thickness of theplunger lock so that it' will engage both the slots 2Oa and 71 when in the lower positionshown -in The manner of assembling the lock structure yis as follows. yThe dial, base 49 is placed within the lock housing 31 with its upper face in engagement with theshoulder upon the reduced'k threaded end 4:1 allow a rotating fit between the dial and dial base without any longitudinal play or A hole is then drilled for pin 4G which is driven home to lock the dial and dial base against relative rotation. The ring flange 17 is now placed `upon plunger 49 with slots 47a in engagement with pin 53, pin 67 is then driven into plunger thus preventing the ring flange from dropping off and the ringreta'iner 58' with rings 60, 63

yto lock the wheel hub and and 66 y'thereon is placed over the plunger,

` theslots 63 66"L and cut ont portion 60a being placed over the pin 67. Plunger lock 21 is then placed over the reduced end 55 of plunger 49and pin 56 is driven home. The spring 52 is yplacedvover the upper ,end of the ,plunger and the plunger withitsassd ciated parts is inserted into the lock housing, the upper end ofplunger and spring 52p1 ssirng through the bore of the dial base wit tainer for the pins-57, it being understood that vth'eholes in the lock housing for pins G11, and and slots 63, 66, and cut out yportion 6,0a will determine 'tl'i'econibination" i tion to bring the pins 61, 64 and 65 in enfor each particular lock and that these'positions will be varied as desired.` 'After the plunger and its associated parts ,have been secured within the-lock housing the wheel hub 30 is screwed onto the lock housing by cooperating screw threads 32 after which hole 36 isdrilled and pin37 driven home against relative rotation.. The elements above described constitute the upper assembled unit or part of the lock, the lower unit or base comprising the bushing 12 and lock base cap'22 which are fretained together by the lock base 19. In placing the lock upon the car the usual wheel is removed, also the usual gear case cover and the gear case cover u shown' in the drawings is substituted. The

key 17 is removed from the shaftand the are preferably equal i the spring 52 making contact with the ibase 51 of the bore 42 of the dial L13. Holesy are now drilled in the sides'of the ring re- The pins 57 are then driven y :pins 61. 64 and 65.

lock housing shoulder 29. The set screw 7 5 is now screwed into one of-` a number of screw centers 76 which are placed at suitably spaced points about the reduced portion of the lock base cap 19, it being understood that the parts will be adjusted to bring the s-crew centerv in alignment with the set screw hole. After the set lscrew is driven home its head is broken off to prevent thefwheel from being detached. The operation of the lock is as follows. Assuming' the parts to be in the positionl shown in Fig. 1 in which position the dial has been rotated tol cause the cam portion 68 to raise the pin 67 and force the plunger 49 upwardly against the action of spring52, and to raise theplunger lock 21 out of the slots 20, .it will be obvious that with the parts in this position rotation of as the rotation of the wheel will merely turn the loclthousing 30 and with it all thememhers of the upper assembly and also the lock base cap 22, but will not actuate the lock base 19 or bushing 12, the presence of the anti-friction balls ensuring the free relative rotation of the upper assembly without carrying along the members connected to the steering shaft. y If it is desired to lock thel wheel the operator rotates the dial according` tothe given combination. It will be obvious that the rotation of the dial will turn the dial base because of locking pin 46 and that rotation of the dial base will turn the rings 60, 68. GG by recess 62, and The purpose of the pin G1 in the outer ring will now be set forth, assuming that the given combination for the lock for example is 5-37-29, and that vthe dial has been rotated in a clockwise direcgageme'nt as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings Vthe rotation of the dial is continued to ring 63 is next set ,by reversing the rotation of the dial. If the pin 61a isomitted it will be obvious that a complete rotation of the dial would be necessary before pin 61 would again contact with pin 63 which would not only be confusing but would also require additional time in the setting of the lock o which would be objectionable; therefore by inserting-the eXtra pin 61a preferably diametrcally opposite pin 61, the rotation of the dialwill be operative to act-nate the intermediate ring as soon as a half reverse graduation 8T ot the revolution of the dial is completed. The dial is then brought into registry thus setting the intermediate ring with its recess 63n in alignment with the pin GT. The dial is then again rotated in the clockwise direction until the graduation 29 is brought into registry thus bringing the recessed or cut out portion G0a into alignment with the pin 6'1". When the combination has been set to bring .the slots G3 and 6Ga and cutout por-tion GO into alignment with pin G7, spring 52 will cause plunger t9 to descend, movii'ig plunger lock 21 into recesses 20 and 'locking ring retainer 58 and lock base 19 together, the parts now being iu the position shown in Fig. 2. It will thus be evident that rotation ot the lock housing `31, which in turn will rotate ring retainer by pins (i7 and t-hat rotation ot the ring retainer' will be communicated to the loca base 19 and through pins 19a communicated to Abushing- 12, which will rotate the steering wheel by means ot key 1T.

lhile we have shown the lower position of the plunger 21 as the locking position, it will be appa-rent that the .parts could be constructed to make the vupper position the locking position.

.Attention is particularlyT called to the construction ot' t-he lock base cap with its depending tiange Q7, which eti'eetually prevents the insertion of any thin tool between the wheel and any of the parts connected to the steering shaft by trictional contact.

l.Yhile we have shown our invention `as applied te a Ford automobile it will be evident that the invention disclosed herein is applicable to any type ot an automobile provided with a solid steering shaft.

Having thus described our invention, what we iclaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A lock for automobile steering wheels comprising a ybase assembly consisting of a bushing adapted to be secured to the steering shaft ot an automobile, a lock base secured to said bushing and a lock base cap; an upper assembly rotatably mounted ron said lower assembly and including a steering wheel, a lock housing, Ameans movable ylongitudinally ot said shatt adapted to prevent relative rotation between said upper and lower assemblies, and lock mechanism to control the longitudinal movement ot said means, said bushing lock hase and lock base cap detining a plurality ot ball races.

Q. A lock for automobile steering wheels comprising a base assembly consisting ot a bushing adapted to be secured to the steering shaft of an automobile, a lock base secured to said bushing and a lock base cap rotatably mounted on said bushing; and an upper assembly including` a steering wheel, means to secure said steering wheel to said lock base cap, a locking member movable longitudinally of said shatt adapted to prevent relative rotation between said upper and lower assemblies and lock mechanism to control the longitudinal movement of said locking member.

A lock for automobile steering wheels comprising a base assembly consisting of a bushing adapted to be secured to the steering shatft of an automobile, a lock base secured to said bushing and a lock base cap rotatably mounted on said bushing, an upper assembly secured to said loci base cap, means adapted to be moved into cooperative engagement with said assemblies to prevent relative rotation therebetween and lock mechanism to control the movement of said means, said lock base cap being provided with a counterbore adapted to extend over and encase a portion of the steering gear cover to Aprevent the insertion ot a thin tool or wedge between the parts.

l. .fr lock tor automobile steering wheels comprising a base assembly, including a member adapted to be secured to the steering shatt ot an automobile, a lock base secured` to said member` a lock base cap rotatably mounted on said member, an upper assembly comprising a steering wheel, a lock housing, means to secure said steering wheel, lock housing and lock base cap together, a permutation lock enclosed in said lock housing, a dial rotatably mounted on said housing, means to prevent longitudinal movement of said dial connection said dial and permutation lock and a locking member controlled by said permutation lock adapted to be moved longitudinally or" said shaft to prevent relative rotation between said upper and lower assemblies.

5. A lock tor automobile steering wheels comprising a base assembly including a member adapted to be secured to the steering shalt of an automobile, a lock base secured to said member, a lock base cap rotatably mounted on said member, an upper assembly comprising a steering wheel, a lock housing, means to secure said steering wheel, lock housing and lock base cap together, a permutation lock enclosed in said lock housing, a dial cap rotatably mounted within said lock housing, a dial secured to said dial cap against relative longitudinal and rotary movement with respect thereto, a permutation lock enclosed within said housing, means connecting said-dial cap and permutation lock and locking member controlled by said perniutation lock mounted for longitudinal movement within said housing adapted to be moved into engagement with and to prevent relative rotary motion between said upper and lower assemblies.

6. A lock for automobile steering wheels comprising a base assembly including a member adapted to be secured to the steering shaft ot' an automobile, a lock base secured 'comprising a base assembly,

to said member, a lock base cap rotatably mounted on said member, an upper assembly comprising a steering wheel, a lock housing means to secure said steering wheel, lock housing and lock' base cap together, a perimitation lock'enclosed in said lock housing, said housing provided at its upper end with an inwardly projecting shoulder, a dial cap rotatably mounted within said housing in contact with the lower face of said shoulder, a dial mounted upon said housing in contact with the upper face of said shoulder, means to secure said dial and dial cap together against longitudinal movement whereby said shoulder will prevent removal ofsai'd dial, means to prevent relative rotation between said dial and dial cap, a permutation lock enclosed wit-hin said housing, means connecting said dial cap and permutation lock and a locking member controlled by said permutation lock mounted for longitudinal movenient within said housing' adapted to'` be moved into engagement with and to prevent relative rotary motion between said upper and lower assemblies. y i

'7. A lock for automobile steering wheels including a member adapted to besecured to the steering shaft of an automobile, a lock base secured to said member, a lock base cap rotatably mounted on said member, an upper assembly comprising a steering wheel, a lock housing means to secure said steering wheel, lock housing and lock base cap together, a

`of said plunger within said recess,

permutation lock enclosed in said lock housin contact with theV lower face of said shoulder, a dial mounted upon said housing in contact with the upper face of said shoulder, means to secure said dial and dial cap together against longitudinal movement whereby said shoulder will prevent removal ot' said dial, means to prevent relative rotas tion between said dial and dial cap, a plun`y ger mounted'within said dial cap, means to prevent relative rotation between said plunger and dial cap but permitting longitudinal movement ol said plunger within said dial cap, said dial cap provided with a radially ext-ending recess, a pin projecting radially a ring retainer enclosed within and secured to Said housing, a plurality of rings rotatably mounted upon said ring retainer, each of said rings provided with a slot adapted to receive said pin, resilient means coacting with said plunger to normally force said pin `into said slots, and a locking member carried by said plunger adapted when said pin is engaged with said slots to lock said lock base and ringretainer against relative rotation with respect to one another.

ln testimony whereof We have afiixed our signatures.

JOSEPH E. ERDEY. HARRY E. KERR. 

